Spotlight: Children's Literature Festival Cardiff 2013

SQUEEEEEEEEE

My prayers have been answered. I cannot tell you how happy I am to make this announcement. I have prayed long and hard for a Children's Literary Festival in Cardiff, so I can actually attend without the problem of travel and expense.

Scheduled to take place March  20th - 24th 2013 in Cardiff City Center.

Here is the press release:

Cardiff, home of Roald Dahl and Doctor Who, is to host its first ever Children’s Literature Festival in 2013. The Cardiff Children’s Literature Festival will take place on Wednesday 20 - Sunday 24 March 2013. It will bring together some of the best contemporary children’s writers and illustrators, putting South Wales once again on the children’s literary map.
Celebrated children’s author Jacqueline Wilson (pictured) is the first to be confirmed for the festival programme. 'I am delighted to be coming to Cardiff's first Festival specially for young readers', said the former Children's Laureate. 'I think festivals are a great way for children to meet as many authors as possible, and discover the huge joys of reading'.
Children’s literature has never been so vibrant, prominent or exciting and this is an ideal time to start a festival in Wales dedicated to young readers. The Festival will enable young people to meet and interact with some of the most creative minds in children’s books. It will promote literacy and the arts with an inventive and accessible programme of cultural events in key venues across Cardiff, in both the Welsh and English language.
The Cardiff Children’s Literature Festival is organised by Literature Wales, Cardiff Council, Cardiff University and National Museum Wales.
“We will transform Cardiff into a wonderland of myths and magical characters” says Literature Wales’ Chief Executive Lleucu Siencyn. “What better way to start a jam-packed year of literary activities for children and young people than to awake their creativity with a major festival in the capital city”.
“The Cardiff Children’s Literature Festival will be a key new event for the city, joining our already busy events programme” added Cllr Nigel Howells, Executive Member for Sport, Culture and Leisure. “The Council will assist in creating the Festival, programming and providing venues like Cardiff Castle to play host. This will be a fun way to encourage children to read and more importantly to enjoy reading”.
Projects such as Cardiff Council’s Literacy Strategy and Literature Wales’ Young People’s Laureate Scheme acknowledge that the essential skills of reading and creative writing need to be nourished: the Cardiff Children’s Literature Festival will be an opportunity for young people to engage with a wider range of books and ideas than ever before.
Minister of Education Leighton Andrews AM also commented that “A Children’s Literature Festival in south Wales will be a great asset to the area. As Minister, one of my key priorities is to improve standards of literacy across the board. Anything that inspires the children and young people of the city to develop a love of reading and writing should be encouraged. I wish the Festival every success”
More information will be released throughout this year in the build up next spring’s festivities.

To register for festival updates, please email:

cardiffchildrenslitfest@literaturewales.org

So who is coming to visit me next March?????

Spotlight: New Literature Festival in Wales

How excited am I that I can now share this with you. A fabulous NEW Literature/Music Festival in Wales.

Taken from the Literature Wales Newsletter:

Howard Marks, Julian Cope, Sir Andrew Motion, Gruff Rhys and Gillian Clarke are amongst the stellar line-up of guests confirmed to appear at the inaugural Dinefwr Literature Festival in Wales this summer.
This three-day bilingual festival will combine award-winning writers, poet laureates, fringe acts and musicians in a celebration of the written word and the mythical landscape of the National Trust’s Dinefwr Park and Castle. Set in the heart of Carmarthenshire, West Wales, the festival will be the first of its kind promising an eclectic mix of high quality literature, music, comedy and cinema.
With its dedicated camping field, outdoor entertainment, stalls and excellent local food, the festival is set to be a top cultural destination this year, putting fun, family and a love of good literature at its very heart.
Further confirmed festival guests include: the award-winning writer and filmmaker Iain Sinclair; poet and broadcaster Luke Wright; novelist, poet and football devotee, Joe Dunthorne together with writer and professor of linguistics, David Crystaland Irish short-story writer Claire Keegan. Beside this impressive line-up of writers, Dinefwr will host events by the cultBrautigan Book Club which started out as a monthly night at Bethnal Green’s Working Men’s Club, and Caught by the River who will be delivering a programme of talks by writers, musicians and journalists throughout the weekend. There will be events in English and Welsh, with confirmed Welsh language writers including Rhys Iorwerth, John Davies and Dewi Prysor.

The weekend’s music will be curated by SŴN’s John Rostron and BBC Radio 1’s Huw Stephens who together put on gigs year-round, predominantly in Wales. Along with Gruff Rhys and Julian Cope, Emmy the Great will be performing, with further names to be announced.
Huw Stephens comments: “Sŵn promotes and celebrates new music coming in and out of Wales. It means ‘Sound’ and is pronounced ‘soon’. We curate stages at other choice UK and international festivals and events too, which is why we're extremely proud to be curating the musical content for the inaugural Dinefwr Literature Festival.”
Parents can be assured that there will be plenty to keep children of all ages entertained. The first names to be announced include the creator of the million-selling Eddy and the Bear trilogy, Jez Alborough, plus the author and science writer Mark Brake and rap artist John Chase who explore the science and fiction of time travel and alien biology in the Science Fiction of Dr Who. Over the weekend there’ll be creative fun and games with the Hunga Munga collective whose slogan is to ‘Make Stuff, Make Friends, Make a Mess’.
Dinefwr Literature Festival is a collaboration between Literature Wales, the National Trust and the University of Wales, Trinity Saint David (as lead partner in the Coracle programme).

Lleucu Siencyn, Chief Executive of Literature Wales, adds: "Wales has an unbroken tradition of celebrating poetry and song, from the National Eisteddfod to the Hay Festival: we like to shout out loud about literature. This year Dinefwr Literature Festival will bring the ancient surroundings alive through a sparkling blend of comedy, music and the best literature we have on offer. Don’t miss it."

Gillian Clarke, National Poet of Wales comments: “I’ve always thought Carmarthenshire – Sir Gaerfyrddin – one of the loveliest counties in Wales. Named for Myrddin, Merlin the wizard, (the very thought turns a pen to a wand), and the Roman ‘Caer’, it is rich in famous gardens, historic houses and castles, and one of the greatest of these is the castle and estate of Dinefwr, near Llandeilo. Once seat of the Lord Rhys, here myth merges with history, poetry with story. A herd of legendary White Cattle still grazes the valley, real, yet a haunting symbol of the ancientness of the place. Nowhere better than Dinefwr to celebrate with a festival of words.”

How utterly awesome does that sound. For further information go HERE